King Carew - Keegan’s men slump again

It left Keegan with just two points from his first four League games and the former England boss admits that the spirit is low as Newcastle get dragged into a relegation scrap, with games against Liverpool, Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers coming next.

Main man: John Carew celebrates his hat-trick against poor Newcastle

"We need to get a club back, a spirit and a togetherness," said Keegan. "We are fragile at the moment. The players have taken a few knocks, since I came here and before as well.

"I knew when I took the job there were tough games coming up. It's a tough league to play in and you get asked a lot of questions. I think we are good enough to be a Premier League club next season but, no matter what size of club you are, you have got to get to 40 points."

Keegan was critical of his players after they surrendered their half-time lead. "I had no complaints about the first half," he said. "The players built a platform to go on and win.

"At half-time I impressed on them how important the first 15 minutes of the second half were. We got some bad luck in conceding the first goal. After that, you look at how players respond and that was the disappointing part. We were getting bullied and letting Carew get away with it."

Keegan also needs to find a new coach after Nigel Pearson quit on Friday.

"Nigel came to me and said he wanted to go. He said he couldn't be dishonest. He wasn't happy, so there was no point him coming with us. We want people who are committed."

The only high point for Keegan was another goal for Owen to follow the one against Middlesbrough last weekend.

"Many people have tried to shoot holes in him but he will always try to prove them wrong," said Keegan. "He knows that big names make big headlines. If we supply him with chances, he will score."

Villa manager Martin O'Neill admitted that his side needed victory to get their bid for the fourth Champions League place back on track after defeat at Fulham last Sunday.

"We were suffering a bit of a hangover," said O'Neill. "Liverpool are the strongest side among those contesting fourth but we must keep going. John Carew was superb today."